Posts tagged Atlantis

Friday was a bittersweet day when the Space Shuttle Program saw the last of its Orbiters delivered to its new home. Space Shuttle Atlantis made the 10 mile trip to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex closing out the Space Shuttle Program.

Atlantis’s final day of motion started early when just before dawn she was backed out of the VAB, and a precise turn was made so that she could parade proudly past the Space Shuttle Team who worked on her as she embarked on her final move to the KSC Visitor Complex. With a beautiful backdrop of the VAB in shadow and a deep blue sky tinged with the pink of predawn Atlantis started to roll on a 10 mile trip to the Visitor Complex which will be her new home.

Once out of the VAB and OPF area Atlantis turned south onto SR3 with a full escort of security and NASA safety specialists. Travelling at walking pace an top of the 76 wheeled Orbiter Transportation System we were able to leapfrog the shuttle as she made steady progress down the road, stopping at convenient points for photo opportunities and farewells from the NASA complex staff.

Continue reading for the remainder of the trip and to view our picture gallery of the final move… READ MORE »

Yesterday saw the last switch of Space Shuttle orbiters as Endeavour left the OPF headed out to the VAB to be replaced by Atlantis. This will be the last time the two orbiters meet as Endeavour will head off to California on September 20th headed out to it’s final resting place at the California Science Center.

Endeavour was kitted out with the now familiar tail cone to improve aerodynamics during its up coming piggy back flight on top of the specially converted 747 known as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). When she next leaves the 526 foot high VAB hanger the Shuttle will head out to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) and the Mate/Demate device where it will be attached to the SCA.

Meanwhile Atlantis was headed back to the OPF for the final stages in the saving of its systems prior to being rolled over the the Kennedy Space Center on November 2nd. When the Shuttles are in flight trim they contain a lot of harmful toxins and other contaminants. The removal of these substances are required before the craft is deemed safe for people to visit.

While the Space Shuttles were playing switch-a-roo we had a camera recording a time-lapse video inside the VAB to watch Atlantis leave and a while later Endeavour arrive.

We were right on the northern end of the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) in a gloomy pre-dawn darkness when we heard the twin sonic booms as the Space Shuttle decelerated and passed the sound barrier. Immediately after we could hear an eerie whispering, rushing sound as the Space Shuttle started it’s terminal loop.

All this time Atlantis was in the dark and we couldn’t locate it by sound. So we kept out eyes peeled on the Xenon lights at the end of the runway waiting for the first sighting of Atlantis on her final voyage.

The whispering suddenly became a roar and with no warning Space Shuttle Atlantis appeared out of the gloom into the bright lights illuminating the Shuttle Landing facility. As she raced down the runway and the wheels touched down a big puff of smoke rose into the sky.

Atlantis was back from her resupply mission to the ISS, closing out 30 years of Space history. We will never see another Shuttle launch, fly or land again!!!

Tomorrow will be a bitter sweet day for NASA and the United States space industry. Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center at 5:56am EST (10:56am BST).

The landing of Atlantis will bring to a close 30 years of the Space Shuttle program which has seen the Shuttle being used as a heavy lift cargo vehicle, a resupply logistics vehicle, a satellite launching vehicle, and a spacecraft servicing vehicle. Never in the last 50 years or so in the history of space exploration has there been such a versatile space craft.

The landing of Atlantis will mark a lull in the United States exploration of space with manned spacecraft. It will also mark the beginning of a new era in development of rockets and spacecraft. We have a number of commercial companies bidding to become NASA’s space transportation service provider, both on cargo and human rated missions.

NASA has plans to move away from Low Earth Orbit and reach out further into our Solar System. Whilst this is nothing new, we have the Juno unmanned mission to Jupiter coming up next month, what is new is that NASA are planing to have Spacemen visit the Asteroids and Mars. To achieve these lofty goals will take time and the development of different spacecraft this will happen over the next few years and despite the sadness of the historic and heroic Space Shuttle Missions we will start to see technology forging ahead once again as we spread our wings and search for far flung destinations and new horizons.

If you were around the Press Site either as one of the 2,500 media representatives or the 150 Tweeps from the #NASATweetup you will have seen a large number of astronauts hanging out and being interviewed. Our friend Lon Seidman from CTTechJunkie managed to get the prize interview, NASA’s newest recruit Elmo from Sesame Street.

Just 200 yards from Atlantis our camera captures the launch of the final Space Shuttle from a unusual and unique vantage point. The video starts at T-10 just before the sparklers start and the main engines ignite.

As soon as the rocket lifts off the camera is partially obscured by some flying debris. As we follow the Rocket into the sky the steam and exhaust clouds start to close in on us, shortly after you can see lots of particular matter flying around including water droplets from the deluge sound suppression system.

Slowly the exhaust clouds begin to clear and we start to see the plume drifting eastbound towards the ocean revealing the Fixed and Rotating Service Structures and the launch pad. Towards the end of the video you can see the shadow cast by Atlantis as it climbs to orbit after punching a hole through the clouds.

The camera we used was a MiniDVR III and was supplied DogCam in the UK. Thanks also to Lee Heath of Heath’s RC Models for the Traxx connectors we used to power the cameras.

With six hours to go before the launch of the final Space Shuttle we are well into the countdown the clock is ticking down at T-3:13:13 and counting. There are no issues being worked, and the only problem is the weather, this remains at 70% no-go.

Of course 70% no-go means 30% likelihood of favourble conditions at launch time. I have seen launches when there was a 90% no-go and the weather opened up just at the right time.

We are currently monitoring things the cloud coverage is still very heavy, but there are occasional breaks when stars can be seen twinkling in Space.

At 3:30am the rain had stopped as we left Titusville headed out on the 17 mile trip to the Kennedy Space Center, and amazingly the traffic was quite light as we drove in. Returning from the press site at 9:30 last night driving up Highway 1 S. Washington Ave there was little space left on the roadside for cars, but still lots of parking available over the other side of the street.

Payload canister in the RSS on launch pad 39A where Space Shuttle Atlantis is being prepared for launch.

With the MPLM fully loaded it is time to move it to the launch pad for installation in the Payload Bay of Space Shuttle Atlantis. The move from the Operations and Checkout Building to launch pad 39-A must be done in clean-room conditions. To achieve this the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module is installed into the Payload Canister which sits on top of the Payload Transporter.

The first thing that you will notice about the Payload transporter is the two large red pipes. These are expandable air conditioning tubes to keep the payload at the correct temperature and humidity during the transport to and installation whilst at the launch pad. Once the payload has been secured in the payload canister it is ready to move out to the launch pad.

Before the payload transporter can start to move the Launch Pad needs to be ready to accept the Payload Canister. This means that the Removable Service Structure (RSS) needs to be retracted so that the canister can be hoisted from its horizontal aspect to vertical where it fits into the RSS to be ultimately installed in the shuttle Payload Bay.

Details of the Space Shuttle Payload Installation and picture gallery follow:READ MORE »

Now that Space Shuttle Atlantis is secured on the launch pad it is time to concentrate on the payload. For STS-135 the payload is mainly supplies. With the termination of the Space Shuttle program and the COTS program still in prototype there is a reliance on the Russian and Japanese programs to re-supply the International Space Station.

This time the main payload is the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Raffaello which is packed to the brim with all manner of supplies to enable the ISS to self sufficient for a year. It is expected that the SpaceX Dragon re-supply capsule will become operational well within that time limit.

The mission also will fly the Robotic Refuelling Mission (RRM), an experiment designed to demonstrate and test the tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically refuel satellites in space, even satellites not designed to be serviced. The objective being to extend the life of some of the ageing spacecraft, and of course, gather knowledge for later in-flight refuelling of manned spacecraft.

After the Lift and Mate in the Vehicle Assembly Building the Orbiter, External Tank, and SRBs (known as the Stack) are mounted on the Mobile Launch Platform and further prepared for flight in the shelter of the huge hanger.

This time the Atlantis Stack was ready to go to the launch pad before the pad was ready to accept it so the rocket was held back in the VAB. Eventually the decision was made to Rollout Atlantis to the pad on the same night that Endeavour returned to the Shuttle Landing Facility.

The Rollout starts by manoeuvring the crawler underneath the Mobile Launch Platform with the stack on top and then hydraulically lifting it off the ground. The VAB hanger door is opened and the crawler started to haul the entire launch configuration out onto the crawlerway the is a specially constructed roadway leading from the VAB out to launch pads 39A and 39B.

Atlantis’s trip out to the pad this night was scheduled a few hours before Endeavour was due to land, making it a very busy night at Kennedy Space Center. About 8:40pm the diesel engines of the crawler revved up and shortly after the MLP with Atlantis on top started its first movement.

On the top of the RSS with Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-135 being prepared for flight

If you are planning to watch Space Shuttle Atlantis launch live then you will be one of probably 1,000,000 people contesting the small amount of real estate around Kennedy Space Center. Before you set out you should have a good idea of where you will try to get a spot to watch from. Not only will you need a plan A, but you will also need a plan B… Our list of viewpoints for the rocket launch have all been individually visited and assessed. A lot of these sites offer only a small amount of parking and often no or limited facilities.

If you have not already bought a ticket for viewing the launch then it is unlikely that you will manage to obtain one at this short notice so it is best to focus on some of the other launch viewing sites. If you have a favorite spot to watch rocket launches that we have not covered then let us know about it.

Read on for the Final Space Shuttle launch viewing locations: READ MORE »

Earlier in the day Space Shuttle Atlantis was delivered into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) from the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF). This is known as the Rollover we are now ready for the Lift and Mate.

The Lift and Mate involves fitting a lifting rig to the orbiter by four attachment points, moving the orbiter into a vertical position then lifting it into the VAB high bay where the External Tank (ET) and Solid Rocket Boosters are waiting for it. The orbiter is finally lowered into place where is is connected to the ET and SRBs by the 3 attachment points that were used to mount it on the transporter.

This whole process takes many hours as the engineers have to stop the movement and wait for the orbiter to stop swinging at a number of points in the lift. During these periods engineers take photographs of the heat shield tiles for reference comparisons against in-flight images.

More details of the Lift and Mate together with a photo gallery follow: READ MORE »

The day after the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-134 to the International Space station saw the first process in the preparation for the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on the final Space Shuttle flight. This launch will be identified with a lot of historic ‘lasts’ as there will never be another Space Shuttle launch when Atlantis returns. This fact is slowly sinking into the Space community as we remember the tremendous success of the Space Shuttle program and look forward to reaching out beyond Earth’s orbit to explore space once again.

Atlantis had been encased in the Orbiter Processing Bay 1 (OPF1) since its return from the ISS back in May 2010. It was being prepared for a ‘Launch On Need’ mission to recover the Endeavour crew in the event of a serious issue with that orbiter. Its status was changed to an active mission in Feb 2011 and on May 17th the day after the launch of Endeavour it was transferred to the Vechicle Assembly Building (VAB) in a process known as Rollover.

Next month sees the last ever launch of a Space Shuttle when STS-135 Atlantis soars into the sky on its way to the International Space Station.

Originally designated as STS-335 Atlantis was intended to be prepared for flight as a Launch On Need (LON) rescue mission in case of a problem with the STS-134 Endeavour orbiter. Earlier this year the mission managers re-designated Atlantis to STS-135 and it became the final shuttle mission.

The Atlantis orbiter designated OV-104 had its first flight on the 3rd October 1985 and has flown 32 missions in its active life. The 33rd mission will be the historic Final Space Shuttle Flight scheduled for launch on July 8th at 11:26am. The mission is to carry the Raffaello MPLM (multi-purpose logistics module) packed with spares and supplies to the International Space Station and to return a faulty ammonia pump for diagnostic analysis back on Earth.

Atlantis will carry a four person crew on the mission, one of the smallest crews in Space Shuttle history. The reason for this is that if there is an issue preventing the return to Earth of the orbiter then the crew can return to Earth abroad the Russian progress capsules. If Atlantis carried a larger crew then the would not be the capacity to return to Earth using the Russian capsule.

Wired4Space will be bringing you full coverage of the final flight from the rollover to the towback after landing. Check this site and @wired4space on twitter to keep abreast of what is going on.

The launch of the final Space Shuttle STS-135 Atlantis has been set for July 8th 2011. Registration is now open to buy tickets to watch the launch at Kennedy Space Center.

This flight will bring to an end the historic missions of the Space Shuttle building both the International Space Station and also deploying and servicing satellites orbiting the Earth. Atlantis will launch with a crew of four Astronauts on a mission to supply the ISS with spare parts and supplies and to return the failed ammonia filter for analysis by NASA scientists back on Earth. Originally slated as a possible rescue craft, with the designation STS-335, Atlantis was on standby in case of need to return the astronauts from STS-134 Endeavour. The mission was reclassified as active mission STS-135 with a smaller crew that could be rescued using the Russian escape capsule should the need arise.

This is very likely to be the launch with the biggest on-site public visitors travelling from around the world. The best place to view the launch from is the NASA Causeway. This has a limited number of places and they are allocated on a lottery basis. To gain eligibility for a ticket you need to register on the Kennedy Space Center website. Registration is open from now until June 5th at 5pm Eastern time. When registration closes registrants will be drawn at random to purchase tickets.

If you are not successful in obtaining tickets they you will have to watch from a public location outside the Kennedy Space Center grounds. We have a list of possible viewing sites on our “Best places to watch a shuttle launch” page, alternately for iPhone/iPad users there is our KSC Launch Pad app that contains all the information you need to watch a rocket launch in Florida.

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